Portable toilet enclosures have been utilized for many years and are well known in the art. Standard portable toilet enclosures (such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,585) consist of a housing unit, comprised of a large, one-piece construction, containing a toilet within an enclosed space which a user may access through a door opening in the housing. These standard toilet enclosures are convenient given that they are portable and require very little in terms of assembly.
However, the main drawback of standard portable toilet enclosures is their large size and weight, which can make delivery, portability and storage difficult. The one-piece construction and shape makes maneuverability and delivery challenging, as typical commercial delivery vehicles have limited space available. Furthermore, the average person engaged in leisure activities, such as camping or picnics, who may require a portable toilet enclosure for extended periods of outdoor activities away from available bathroom facilities, are unable to utilize standard portable toilet enclosures given their large size and weight.
Attempts have been made to overcome the drawbacks associated with the standard portable toilet enclosures. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,487 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,597, each of which disclose portable toilet enclosures that are collapsible for ease of storage and delivery. However, these portable toilet enclosures suffer from a lack of structural strength, given that they consist of a privacy screen supported on a thin framed assembly. Furthermore, these enclosures require a considerable amount of manual assembly, including several different components which require connection, and in some instances, posting and securing the enclosure to the ground.
There is therefore a need in the art for an improved collapsible toilet enclosure directed at overcoming the above-referenced drawbacks, particularly one that is lightweight and collapsible for ease of storage and delivery, has few components making it easy to assemble for use and has sufficient structural strength for use in a variety of applications.